St Barts
Aerial view of the St Barts beach, where the rich and famous were stuck after the FAA temporarily closed the airspace due to the US attack on Venezuela.

Some Hollywood celebrities found themselves forced to extend their Caribbean holidays, even though staying longer was far from the plan.

On Saturday, 3 January, the US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced the closure of airspace around Venezuela following President Donald Trump's attack on the South American nation to seize its president, Nicolás Maduro.

The flight cancellation affected the airspace in the Caribbean region, which means the rich and famous who spent their New Year's celebration in luxury beaches around the region had no other choice but to stay where they were.

Stuck in Paradise

Page Six reported that actors Natalie Portman, Queen Latifah, model Ming Lee Simmons, boxing legend Mike Tyson and party maven Richie Akiva were among the list of celebrities who had to cancel their flight back to the US from St Barts and the other luxurious vacation spots in the area.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio had to miss the Palm Springs International Film Awards in California due to the flight restrictions. He also welcomed the New Year partying in a luxury yacht with girlfriend, Vittoria Ceretti, and Jeff Bezos at St Barts.

'Leonardo DiCaprio is unable to join us in person tonight due to unexpected travel disruptions and restricted airspace,' a spokesperson for the Palm Springs International Film Festival said in a statement as reported by Variety. 'While we will miss celebrating with him in person, we are honoured to recognise his exceptional work and lasting contributions to cinema. His talent and dedication to the craft continue to inspire, and we are delighted to celebrate him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award this evening.'

Other Hollywood celebrities like Cuba Gooding Jr's girlfriend Claudine DeNiro turned to social media to report that they were stuck in the islands.

A post shared by instagram

A source also told Page Six that some celebrities and business moguls tried sailing from St Barts to bigger islands like Anguilla and Saint Martin in hopes of finding a flight back home.

'Everyone's been taking the boat to Anguilla, only to be turned away, and sent back [to St. Barts or St. Martin],' the source shared.

The insider also mentioned that hotels and villas in the islands became fully occupied. According to the publication, New York hospitality experts started looking for people to join group charter flights as the situation started to become desperate.

Can't Fly Will Party

Since Akiva had no way to get back to New York due to the flight cancellations, the New York nightlife mogul found a way to deal with the hassle, which was to host a party.

He and David Guetta's ex-girlfriend Cathy joined forces to host 'F**k Me We Can't Fly' in St Barts, based on the popular 'F**k Me, I'm Famous' parties hosted by the international DJ.

St Barts Party
NY partyscene mogul Richi Akiva posted a video on his Instagram Stories about the party he hosted at St Barts for those stranded due to flight cancellations.

Chaos Erupted After Flights Resumed

While celebrities and mega-millionaires can afford to leave the islands without a glitch once the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the flight ban in the Caribbean airspace, regular tourists had to find their way out of the paradise due to the high flight demands.

According to ABC News, most US air carriers like United, JetBlue, American, Delta and Southwest had to create additional flights to accommodate those stranded in the Caribbean. But since adding flights was not enough, some tourists had to stay longer in the region for their turn to fly back.

Originally published on IBTimes UK